Can I get out of this cycle?

[Dietdont]

I am in need of desperate help. I have been on  a binge -starve- binge -starve diet cycle for many years- eating littel from sun-wed and then over doing it (mostly carbohydrates- bread and candy) from thur to sat. i feel so guilty adn am in the terrible habit of taking too mnay laxatives during these 'junk days'. I know I have down very bad damage to my body. I am always lacking in any self control and need help.

I would like to eat normally again and not over do my 'junk day'but i am sacerd to put on the weight i  have worked so hard to keep off.

Please help! I want to be normal again and live off thei cycle and the terrible laxatives but i feel the damage has been done  

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

Hello, I am dr. gould, and I run the emotional eating forum.  You have described the emotional eating syndrom so if you want help with that and permanent relief you can either go directly to my website at www.shrinkyourself.com, or visit the emotional eating forum.

[misscloey]

I have a treat when I REALLY want it. I ask myself before I eat it"Do you really want these extra calories, and do you want to work it off?" In other words, am I willing to sacrifice the time to work it off, or am I willing to alter my eating for a day to adjust for the calories. Normally I do not eat treats, I mean I do... but not what most would consider treats. If I want something sweet, I will have sugar free Jello with light cool whip, or a sugar free fudgesicle or a chocolate protein shake with cool whip. If it is a special occassion or we are eating out and I want some cheesecake I will eat it. For me, it has to be WORTH the calories. It really has to be something special and very tasty, otherwise it is not worth it to me.I used to be a totally "mindless" eater. I would just pop things in my mouth and never think about it. Now, I have learned to control my mind instead of it controlling me. I find it much easier to control my weight this way. As far as calories go, I dont really count, I just stick to low carb meals 98% of the time.  

[Dietdont]

Tx misscloey! Do you mind sharing what your treat and calories involved for that treat- do you have it weekly?

[misscloey]

I would suggest watching your caloric intake after the "treat". If you are sticking to a 1500 cal a day  or whatever your particular guidelines are, then try to go back to whatever you were doing. If you are doing low carb then just go back to that way of eating just eat a little less and keep exercising. Whenever I have a treat I either exercise more or eat less. The I go back to my way of eating.
Sounds like you are doing better and I am glad. Keep up the good work.

[Dietdont]

Hi

Yesterday I had my gelato treat at about 11ish - it was a large serving -probably 700 cals  BUT i made sure that I ate a small breakfast - a small bowl pieces of fruit  to kickstart my metabolism. I did make sure I was active during the rest of the afternoon following my gelato- houseowork, window shopping then going on my cross trainer for 50 mins. I had a light dinner consisting of tuna, cucumber and some cauliflower mash with spices.

I also chewed a couple of pieces of xtra and drank two cups of coffee plus water and green tea to prevent myself from falling into my trap of eating my 'treat then going way overboard and having a pigfest.' My historyof binge cheat day eating has been terrible .

Today I have had an apple , berry and watermelon juice and coffee and water so far.
Tonight i will have the same as last night with added steamed spinach.I will also be going on my xtrainer for approx 30 mins.

My question is: Do i need to 'reduce'my calories esp no carbs the day after my treat meal. I am just lucky it is sunday so i can lounge a little bit more.

[hulahoop24]

i understand, i am a recovering anorexic/bulemic. Have not had any outbursts for 6 years now. What I learned and still am learning is balance. Balance is the key, and too much of anything is bad for you. When you binge on saturday your body collects double the fat because you've trained your body to know that it will starve the next day. When your body realizes you are not going to do this anymore you will stop gaining weight. When i first started getting better it took 6 months for my body to reclock itself. I gained weight i'm not going to lie but after my body reclocked i magically started to drop weight with little effort. Regularily excersize, accept the fact your body retains fluids more some days out of the month than others.  A trick i've learned is if you crave something, have it. IN A SMALL PORTION. so rather than having 10 cookies, you will have 1 and you would be surprised at how not so often you crave things when you allow yourself to have them. And as a rule of thumb, if your wanting a treat, do it in the afternoon versus night. It'll give it time to burn off.

[misscloey]

I agree with L4F. Like I said if you eat healthy MOST of the time an occassional treat is fine. It is when you dont eat healthy, dont exercise and eat too much junk that you will not do well. I prefer to look at it as a way of life rather than a "diet". It is much easier to think of it that way. One of my favorite mottos: "Eat to live, don't live to eat" or something like that. Whatever lifestyle of eating you choose and whatever food combinations work for you if you abide by it you will become healthier and your body will respond. As far as cheat days go, I don't suggest you view it is an all out pig fest, but eat whatever it is you want just be reasonable about it. Good Luck

[Dietdont]

Hi

Did you exercise daily and how much and also in your ''cheat day'' did you eat junk most of the day or just for one meal or snack?

tx

[live4fitness]

I think you can. When I lost 60 pounds I ate clean 6 days a week and cheated one day a week.

[Dietdont]

Hi

Tx again for the responses. I am determined to get out of that cycle so my ? is

I PLAN  to eat a healthy well balanced diet w-5/6 meals and work aerobically 30 mins per day and hit the gym for light weight training 3 times. I dont have carbs after 5pm mainly with my breakfast and lunch

Can i enjoy a treat - either the three scoop milk based gelato OR a piece of german cake OR a meal out once a week  and lose weight?

[misscloey]

Oh about the gelato. I believe that you can eat your gelato in moderation if you follow a healthy diet 90% of the time and exercise regularly. I know low carb is not for everyone, it just happens to be what works best for me. I am not against other healthy diets that include whole wheat carbs and fruit by any means. I just do better minus the carbs. I do have desert when I want it even desert that contain carbs. But, not very often. I don't crave them like I used to, but when I really want cheesecake or ice cream I eat it. It keeps me sane and keeps my diet on tract.

[misscloey]

Hi

You need to eat healthy every day. I follow a low carb diet myself, I know you will get alot of nay sayers about this way of eating, but I believe it is the best for sugar/carb cravings, energy and general well being. If nothing else, just eat regularly scheduled small meals at about 2-3 hour intervals. Small portions of healthy foods regularly should help you out with this problem. What you are doing now, is extremely unhealthy for your body (as you know)
The laxatives have got to go first of all. If you eat healthy you do not need any sort of laxative as your degestive tract will purge on its own. Please try to eat regularly for your health. Hope this helpsa and best of luck.

[Dietdont]

Hi Britt831

Thankyou for your advice. I know I need help and have to face my diet demons to stop destroying my life. I work out moderately and since Monday(after starving on Sun due to Sat "bingathon' I have continued moderate daily and eating sustainable healthy balanced meals and snacks.

But I have been craving my favourite gelato - hazelnut, chocolate and coffee. Can I contuinue with my mostly healthy lifestyle and eating patterns and have my weekly( usually Sat with friends) three scoops of gelato and NOT gain weight.

Tx !!

[Britt831]

Every day is a new day!  Start over tomorrow - no binging, no starving.  Talk urself into eating sensibly.  There r no 'bad foods' or 'good foods' - just bad choices and good choices.  But first u need to find peace with y u do this.  Until u figure that out and deal with the emotions involved u will never be able to beat this bad habit.